Thomas, Wildcats down Cougars

Saturday

Sep 22, 2012 at 5:00 AM

By JIM VAN SICKLE T-G Correspondent

NEW LONDON -- The New London Wildcats remained unbeaten in league play Friday after edging Crestview, 26-21, in Firelands Conference grid action -- New London's first victory over the Cougars since 2007.

New London (3-2, 2-0 FC) opened the game with a pair of touchdowns sandwiched around a pair of thwarted Cougar offensive drives. The middle quarters were dominated by Crestview, featuring smash-mouth football to realize sustained drives.

The winners had only one set of downs in the second quarter and a pair of the same in the third quarter, as Crestview's sustenance on offense used the majority of clock time.

For the game, Crestview (1-4, 0-2) dominated the time of possession, as it ran 59 plays to New London's 36. The Wildcats countered that dominance by utilizing big plays to cross the end stripe.

The real drama in the contest came in the final quarter. New London owned the final margin with 10 minutes to play. Crestview's first drive in the final 12 minutes was squelched by the Wildcat defense, with the key play in that series coming when New London's Nate McIntosh sacked Cougar quarterback Nick Wheeler.

After Crestview stopped the Wildcats on the ensuing series, the team proceeded to drive for the winning score. That drive would not be successful, however, when New London defenders would book a pair of sacks to preserve the win. Those stops were turned in by Dillon Hall and Clay Wilson.

"Our defense really stepped up on that final drive tonight," said New London coach Justin Vorhies, whose program has a winning record for the first time since 2008.

Offensively, the winners were led by Nick Thomas, who clicked off scoring runs of 57 and 26 yards in the first quarter and pulled in a Josh Hamilton pass in the final quarter on a play covering 50 yards that ended with six points.

Of Thomas' big plays that earned him a "Mr. Outside" moniker, Vorhies just smiled. "Considering their defense, we thought we had a better matchup going outside," said the Wildcat coach.

Thomas proved him right.

"You never know who's going to step up. Dane (Held) did last week, Nick got it done tonight, and Clay (Wilson) has been consistent all year," said Vorhies.

Thomas would carry 11 times and record 110 yards while scoring three touchdowns for the night.

Wilson would snare the other Wildcat touchdown on a 40-yard cutback run late in the third quarter.

On the other side of the field, Crestview coach Chad Coffman lamented his team's slow start.

"They came out fired up and we were flat at the start," he said. "We're a little bit young and we're breaking in some new guys."

One bright spot noted by Coffman was his team's approach after being down 14-0 after one quarter.

"At that point, we settled down and played," he said.

That was an understatement, as the Cougars, buoyed by the running of fullback Jay Hill and the arm of Wheeler, put together three successful time-consuming scoring drives to realize their 21 points.

Hill carried 17 times for 87 yards and Wheeler completed 10 of 16 aerials for 81 yards. Hill would cross into the New London end zone three times to account for the Cougar scoring. Short bursts of 1, 3 and 1 yard, respectively, were Hill's numbers on those romps to paydirt.

"Jay's a hard worker, Coffman said of Hill. "He had a great first game this year and he played well tonight."

Crestview0777-- 21

New London14066-- 26

First Quarter

NL -- Thomas 26 run (run failed), 8:58.

NL -- Thomas 57 run (Dillard pass from Hamilton), 0:00.

Second Quarter

CV --Hill 1 run (Giles kick), 4:57.

Third Quarter

CV -- Hill 3 run (Giles kick), 5:45.

NL -- Wilson 40 run (pass failed), 3:31.

Fourth Quarter

CV -- Hill 1 run (Giles kick), 11:10.

NL -- Thomas 50 pass from Hamilton, 10:09.

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CNL

First downs1613

Rushes-yards49-18029-159

Passing81130

Comp-Att-Int10-16-07-14-1

Fumbles-Lost1-00-0

Penalties-Yards4-208-70

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING - Crestview, Hill 17-87. New London, Thomas 11-110.

PASSING - Crestview, 10-16-80-0. New London, Hamilton 8-15-131-1.

RECEIVING - Crestview, Nick Hout 3-26. New London, Thomas 1-50.

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